The state promises that handling key “life situations” will be simpler and free of unnecessary trips to offices. The social domain is currently the most advanced, with fully proactive payment of pregnancy and maternity benefits being prepared without any filings from the client. By the second quarter of 2026, ministries are to add 16 improved life situations funded from the recovery plan.
Birth of a child: benefits without an application
Sociálna poisťovňa is working to have pregnancy and maternity benefits granted automatically. At the 13th week of pregnancy, the gynecologist will record the expected due date in the electronic health records and the data will be transferred to the agency. Based on the data, it will initiate the proceedings on its own, issue a decision, and pay the benefit. The client will thus no longer have to carry paper forms or visit a branch.
For maternity leave, the state even plans to electronically notify the employer of the start of maternity leave approximately six weeks before the due date. By contrast, the carer’s benefit (OČR) will not be fully proactive, because it is not known in advance who will care for the ill family member. Even here, however, a simple electronic filing is to be added so that people do not have to go to an office. The common denominator is the “once-only” principle — data provided to one authority will be used by the state across ministries.
Unemployment and illness: what already works today
The life situation of losing a job has been digitalized since 2020. It is enough to register with the labour office and indicate that you are applying for unemployment benefit; the offices exchange the data among themselves. According to Sociálna poisťovňa, roughly 98% of people no longer need to visit a branch. Notifications are also being prepared: when your employer deregisters you, you will receive an alert with the next steps and, after the decision, information about the benefit payment.
Electronic sick notes are standard today, although in some regions they are limited by the willingness or readiness of clinics. When returning to work, bringing your employment contract to the labour office is also to be eliminated — the new employer will register the employee and the offices will pass the information on. The carer’s benefit will not be fully automatic, but it is to get a clear online form. The aim is for the citizen to see the status of their case and do only what is necessary.
Behind the scenes: data, laws and the 2026 deadline
Digitalizing life situations is not just about a nicer form, but mainly about changing the processes in the background. The Ministry of the Interior emphasizes automation and linking registers so that papers do not travel between offices for weeks. This, however, also requires amendments to laws that will enable faster entries into registers and the initiation of proceedings based on shared data. Most ministries are currently working on integrations without which the individual situations cannot progress.
The IT community points out that the state could have set common rules more strongly at the start — for example, automatic decision-making where possible, or data exchange instead of documents. MIRRI argues that, alongside its ambitions, the project was constrained by complex legislation, public procurement, and limited capacity, and promises clearer direction in the forthcoming digitalization strategy. Everyone, however, agrees on the goal: to deliver 16 life situations from the recovery plan by Q2 2026 while continuing with others. It will be important that services are usable for everyone — online and in person — and that citizens do not have to figure out which office does what.
